Aboriginal Council (AC) is a type of Local Government Area (LGA) found in South Australia.

See Local Government Area (LGA).

ABS Structures

The ABS Structures are a hierarchy of regions developed for the release of ABS statistical information. Collectively they make up the ABS defined component of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). ABS Structures are consistent in population size, have better geographic detail and reflect settlement patterns and socio-economic relationships. They have been designed to remain stable between Censuses and the next update will occur in 2016.

The ABS Structures comprise six interrelated hierarchies of regions. They are:

Main Structure

Indigenous Structure

Urban Centres and Localities/Section of State Structure

Remoteness Structure

Greater Capital City Statistical Area Structure

Significant Urban Area Structure.

See Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS).

Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA)

The Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA) is a product of the National Centre for Social Applications of GIS (GISCA) now incorporated into the University of Adelaide's Australian Population and Migration Research Centre (APMRC).

ARIA measures remoteness based on the physical road distance between a settlement and five classes of service centre. The ABS uses ARIA scores in a collaboration with the APMRC to create the Remoteness Structure. The Remoteness Structure is based on an extended version of the original ARIA methodology called ARIA+.

ARIA+ is widely used within the Australian community and has become recognised as a nationally consistent measure of geographic remoteness.

The purpose of address coding, also known as address geocoding, is the accurate allocation of a locational code or, of a geographic coordinate, to given address data.

The ABS uses the Geocoded National Address File (G-NAF) as the authoritative list of Australian addresses and exact point locations.

Address geocoding is used by the ABS in numerous places within the statistical process: for example, addresses are geocoded to provide a location for enumeration. Also, addresses are geocoded to the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) to support the creation of aggregated statistics.

The ABS does not provide an address geocoding service, as we do not own the intellectual property of the G-NAF. However, the ABS facilitates the process of geocoding by providing several supporting datasets such as 'Coding Indexes' and 'Population Weighted Correspondence' files.

Locality, Postcode and state or territory are all part of an address and used in conjunction can effectively code data to the Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) and above in the ASGS. This can be achieved by using a suburb/locality to SA2 coding index or a population weighted correspondence file which are available free of charge from the ABS.

To view and obtain available coding indexes and population weighted correspondence files please refer to the ABS Statistical Geography website: http://www.abs.gov.au/geography

Allocation tables, also known as hierarchy tables, describe a hierarchy of regions where the smaller regions fit precisely within the larger regions. The Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) represents a structural hierarchy where areas at the smaller levels aggregate directly to those above them. An example of this is the relationship between Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s) and Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2s) where an SA2 contains one or more whole SA1s.

Allocation tables in .csv text file format for every ASGS region are available under the 'Downloads' tab in their respective ASGS volumes.

See Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS).

Antarctica

Expeditioners to Australian bases in the Australian Antarctic Territory (and other locations) are included in the Census. Their 'place of enumeration' is an Offshore Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1) in Tasmania.

The Spatial Information Council (ANZLIC) is the peak intergovernmental organisation providing leadership in the collection, management and use of spatial information in Australia and New Zealand.

The key role of ANZLIC is to develop policies and strategies to promote accessibility to, and usability of, spatial information for Australia and New Zealand. ANZLIC's vision is that the economic growth, social and environmental interests of Australia and New Zealand are underpinned by spatially referenced information that is current, complete, accurate, affordable and accessible; and is integrated in critical decision making.

ANZLIC is currently co-located with the Australian Government Office of Spatial Policy.

Area is calculated in square kilometres for regions using digital boundary data which define the Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s). The areas of other spatial units used in the Census are calculated by aggregating the areas of the component SA1s.

The digital region boundaries are only representations of their 'real world' bounds. The real world boundary is complex, whereas the digital version is simplified. This results in a less than perfect measurement of the true area of the region. The degree to which the measured area is inaccurate is, in most cases, only slight.

Calculation of the actual area of a SA1 is two dimensional. The effects of changes in elevation are not considered in the area calculations provided by the ABS.

Australia Post Postcodes are areas designed to facilitate the delivery of mail. Australia Post does not currently define geographic boundaries for Postcodes. However, a number of organisations, such as PSMA Australia Limited or Pitney Bowes, create geographic boundaries that aim to define the geographic extent of the mail delivery area for each Postcode.

As a result of demand from users wishing to use Postcode to collect and disseminate data, the ABS has produced 'Postal Areas' which are ABS approximations of Australia Post Postcodes. Census data is released on Postal Areas.

See Non-ABS Structures, Postal Area (POA).

Australian Drainage Divisions (ADD)

Australian Drainage Divisions (ADDs) are an ABS approximation of drainage divisions. Drainage divisions are defined by major landscape features and climatic zones to form broad hydrological regions as represented in the Australian Hydrological Geospatial Fabric (Geofabric) version 1 developed by the Bureau of Meteorology.

The 12 Australian Drainage Divisions (ADDs) are part of the ASGS Non-ABS Structures and are approximated from Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s).

See Non-ABS Structures.

Australian Indigenous Geographical Classification (AIGC)

Australian Indigenous Geographical Classification (AIGC) was the geographical standard for the publication of statistics about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia up until 2006. In 2011 the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Indigenous Structure replaced the AIGC.

The ASGC was developed by the ABS for the collection and dissemination of geographic statistics. It was a hierarchically structured classification with a number of spatial units designed to satisfy different statistical considerations. The ASGC was first released in 1984 and had generally been updated annually. The 2011 ASGC edition was the last.

The Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) has been replaced by the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). Statistics from the 2011 Census have been released using the ASGS and the ASGC Statistical Local Areas (SLA) 2011. Time series data for 2001 - 2006 - 2011 is available at the SLA 2011 level.

Effective from July 2011, the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) is the geographical standard developed by the ABS for the collection and dissemination of geographic statistics. It is a hierarchically structured classification with a number of spatial units to satisfy different statistical considerations.

The ASGS brings all the regions used by the ABS to output data under the one umbrella. They are divided into two broad categories:

1. ABS Structures: those regions which are defined and maintained by the ABS.

2. Non-ABS Structures: those regions defined and maintained by other organisations, but for which the ABS supplies data.

The ABS Structures:

Mesh Block (MB)

Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1)

Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2)

Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3)

Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4)

State/Territory (S/T)

Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSA)

Urban Centre and Locality (UCL)

Section of State Range (SOSR)

Section of State (SOS)

Indigenous Location (ILOC)

Indigenous Area (IARE)

Indigenous Region (IREG)

Significant Urban Area (SUA)

Remoteness Area (RA).

The Non-ABS Structures of the ASGS bring together those regions which are not defined by the ABS, but are supported by the ABS. They generally represent administrative regions and are approximated by Mesh Blocks, SA1s or SA2s.

Basemap refers to digital data that describes and displays topographic information in a Geographic Information System (GIS). This data described can be natural or man-made and includes visible features such as river and other water bodies, roads, railway lines, power lines and contours.

See Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Borough (B)

Borough (B) is a type of Local Government Area (LGA) in Victoria.

See Local Government Area (LGA).

Boundaries

See Digital Boundaries.

Bounded Locality

Bounded Locality is a category of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Section of State (SOS) Structure.

See Locality, Rural, Section of State (SOS) Structure, Section of State Range (SOSR), Urban Centre and Locality (UCL) Structure.

The cadastre is a physical record of rights and responsibilities for land. In common usage the term cadastre refers to the digital representation of all cadastral land parcel boundaries excluding easements, roads and drainage casements for Australia, managed by each state and territory.

See PSMA Australia Limited.

Capital City Statistical Division (Capital City SD or may be shown as CCSD)

The Capital City Statistical Division (Capital City SD) was a component spatial unit of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC). The ASGC was replaced by the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) from July 2011. A comparable spatial unit within the ASGS is the Greater Capital City Statistical Area (GCCSA).

The Capital City SD's were predominantly urban in character and represented the state and territory capital cities in the wider sense. A Capital City SD was defined to contain the anticipated urban development of a capital city (and its associated urban centres) for a period of at least twenty years. It delimited an area which was stable for general statistical purposes.

Census Geographic Areas were created so that Census data may be made available for commonly used geographic areas other than those found in the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC). Census Geographic Areas for the ASGC were formed by an aggregation of whole Collection Districts (CDs), for example, Postal Areas and State Suburbs.

City (C) is a type of Local Government Area (LGA) found in all states and the Northern Territory. It is not present in the Australian Capital Territory or in Other Territories.

See Local Government Area (LGA).

Cocos (Keeling) Islands

See Other Territories.

Coding Indexes

Coding indexes enable data collected with a partial address to be linked to a geographic area. For ABS purposes, coding indexes are tables that list a geographic area against its most appropriate match in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). For example, a coding index will indicate a suburb or locality and the Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) it is most appropriately associated with based on the distribution of population within the locality.

For a full list of coding indexes available please view the 'Correspondences' chapter of the ABS Statistical Geography website:http://www.abs.gov.au/geography

See Address Coding/Address Geocoding.

Collection District (CD)

Until 2006, the Collection District (CD) was the smallest geographical area for which Census data were available under the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC). For 2011, they were replaced with Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s).

Commonwealth Electoral Divisions (CEDs) are an ABS approximation of the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) federal electoral division boundaries. An AEC federal electoral division is an area legally prescribed for the purpose of returning one member to the House of Representatives, Australia's Federal Lower House of Parliament. Federal electoral divisions are periodically redistributed on a state-by-state basis by the AEC.

CEDs form part of the Non-ABS structures within the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) and are constructed from allocations of whole Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s).

Confidentiality refers to the obligation of data custodians (agencies that collect information) to keep the confidential information they are entrusted with secret. Agencies that collect information from people and organisations have a legal and ethical responsibility to ensure:

they respect the privacy of those providing the information

that individuals and organisations cannot be identified in data that is released from the data set.

Positions on the surface of the Earth are defined by coordinate pairs. Coordinates may be expressed as eastings and northings: for example, metres east and north of a particular datum point or, as latitudes and longitudes which is an angular measure (in degrees) of position measured from the centre of the Earth. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can compute the relationship between different types of coordinates and convert one to the other as long as the datum and projection of the coordinate system is known.

Correspondence files (concordances) are used to transfer data from one geography to another. Correspondences mathematically reassign data from one geographic region to another. The ABS has made available a wide range of population based correspondences to assist with data conversion to the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). Innovative data processes for the 2011 Census of Population and Housing provided the ABS with the opportunity develop correspondences that are based on Mesh Blocks with 2011 Census counts. Correspondences released from 2011 are simpler and more accurate than those the ABS previously made available.

Digital boundaries facilitate the analysis and display of statistical data through their use in various software packages. Statistical data from other ABS collections, or from other sources, can be used in conjunction with these boundaries.

Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) boundaries have been constructed and maintained using the authoritative spatial data supplied by PSMA Australia Limited. The data quality and spatial accuracy of these boundaries are closely linked to the digital basemap upon which they were based. They do not necessarily align with any other digital basemaps.

When using these boundaries, users should be aware that, as a result of limitations of scale and accuracy of the original basemap, they are not exact in area and extent. They therefore should not be used for highly detailed spatial analysis involving attributes that are highly dependent on area and extent factors.

Currently all digital boundaries produced by the ABS are compatible with Geocentric Datum Australia 94 (GDA94).

Statistical data for use in conjunction with 2011 Census digital boundaries can be obtained from ABS Information Consultancy, or the Census website: http://www.abs.gov.au/census

Copyright on boundaries:

The copyright and intellectual property rights for ABS digital boundaries are retained solely by the Commonwealth of Australia and are administered by the ABS. Individuals or organisations may use these boundaries freely, provided they acknowledge the ABS as the source and do not make any changes.

Gazetted localities and suburbs are the officially recognised boundaries of suburbs (in cities and larger towns) and localities (outside cities and larger towns). Localities and suburbs are gazetted by the Geographical Place Name authority in each state and territory. Since 1996 these boundaries have been formalised for most areas of Australia through a program coordinated by the Committee for Geographical Names in Australasia (CGNA), under the umbrella of the Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping (ICSM).

Geocentric Datum of Australia (GDA94)

All boundaries released by the ABS after August 2001 are based on the Geocentric Datum of Australia (GDA94). GDA94 provides an internationally compatible coordinate system for all geographic data and allows Australia to gain significant benefit from Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technology.

See Coordinates, Digital Boundaries.

Geocode

A geocode is a unique code that can be used to determine the position of a location on the Earth's surface. This unique code is linked to a set of coordinates that defines a geographic element, commonly a point or a polygon, that represents that location. The set of coordinates must be related to a defined Geospatial referencing system such as the Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994.

For example, the location address "ABS House, 45 Benjamin Way, Belconnen ACT 2617" can have the following geocodes:

1. The point defined by the latitude: -35.2406 longitude: 149.0678 (GDA1994).

2. The Mesh Block code - 80002993000; the Mesh Block that includes ABS House. This code directly references the polygon coordinate geometry that is associated with that Mesh Block, as defined by the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS).

This information can then be used to relate the data to other geographies. Geocodes are used in the ABS to associate statistics with locations.

The Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) uses the 'Geographic' definition of Australia, as set out in Section 2B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 which currently defines Australia or the Commonwealth as meaning:

'…the Commonwealth of Australia and, when used in a geographical sense, includes the Territory of Christmas Island and the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands, but does not include any other external Territory'.

Included in this definition of 'Geographic Australia' are the: States of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania; Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Territory of Christmas Island and Jervis Bay Territory.

Jervis Bay Territory was previously included with the ACT for statistical purposes. However, because of its administrative association with the ACT and it's relatively small size it did not meet confidentiality requirements for statistical output. Following the granting of self-government to the ACT in May 1989, this situation was reviewed. From the 1 July 1993 edition of the previous Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), Jervis Bay Territory, along with the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands and the Territory of Christmas Island formed part of a new category, Other Territories, at the State and Territory level. This convention has continued with the ASGS.

The ASGS excludes Macquarie Island although it is legally part of Tasmania. Macquarie Island is an extremely isolated sub-Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean. It has no permanent population. Any population on Macquarie Island, for example scientific expedition groups, is recorded in the Census of Population and Housing and is included in an Offshore Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1) for Tasmania.

See Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS), External Territories, Other Territories.

Geographic Correspondences

See Correspondences/Concordances.

Geographic Differencing

Geographic differencing is the process where the same data is obtained for two different but overlapping regions and the data from the smaller of these regions is subtracted from the data for the larger region. By utilising this method it is possible to obtain data for the area that is not common to both regions. Obtaining data for small areas using this method may result in a risk to privacy or confidentiality.

Geographic Information System (GIS)

A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a combination of software and data which allows the display, manipulation, analysis and output of spatial (map) data.

Generally, geospatial information (sometimes called spatial information) is information that has traditionally been portrayed through maps or in association with maps. More technically, it is defined as information or data that is associated with a location or region on or near the surface of the Earth. Geospatial information generally relates to the natural and built environment, but also includes observations of people, and the social and economic outcomes of human activity. Geospatial information is stored in a geographic referencing system, usually a coordinate system of latitude, longitude and, increasingly, elevation.

See Coordinates, Latitude, Longitude.

GISCA

The Geographical Information System Cooperative of Adelaide (GISCA) operates from the Adelaide University and is a key player in the development of ARIA+, the basis for the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Remoteness Structure.

GISCA was established in July 1995 and was funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) as a joint Key Centre venture between six core partners - the three South Australian universities (Flinders University, University of Adelaide and University of South Australia), the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and the South Australian Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Environment and Natural Resources.

When the ARC Key centre funding ended in 2001, the joint venture ended, and GISCA continued as an independent unit within the University of Adelaide. GISCA is now incorporated into the University of Adelaide's Australian Population and Migration Research Centre (APMRC).

ARIA+ is widely used within the Australian community and has become recognised as a nationally consistent measure of geographic remoteness.

G-NAF (Geocoded National Address File) is an authoritative geocoded address index for the whole country which lists all valid physical addresses in Australia. It contains approximately 13 million physical addresses, each linked to its own geocode (specific latitude and longitude of the address). Data used to build G-NAF comes from contributors including the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), Australia Post and Australia's government mapping agencies and land registries.

GCCSAs are geographical areas that are designed to represent the socio-economic definition of each of the eight state and territory capital cities. They provide a stable comparative definition for these cities which are used for the output of a range of social and economic survey data.

The GCCSA boundaries are built from aggregations of whole Statistical Areas Level 4 (SA4s) to facilitate the comparison of labour force data with other economic data such as the Consumer Price Index, released on GCCSAs. The GCCSA boundaries represent a broad socio-economic definition of each city, they contain not only the urban area of the city, but also non-urban areas where much of the population has strong links to the capital city, through for example, commuting to work.

For the 2011 edition of the ASGS, there are 16 GCCSA regions. There are 8 regions representing each of the Australian State and Territory capital cities and 7 regions covering the rest of each state and territory. This excludes the ACT where there is only one GCCSA region for the entire territory. There is also one region for the Other Territories of Jervis Bay, Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

Heard Island is an Australian External Territory situated to the south west of Australia. This island is not within the scope of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). However, for Census purposes temporary residents of this island are counted in the Offshore Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1) for Tasmania.

Imagery is the intelligence derived from the analysis of geospatial information that describes, assesses and visually depicts physical features (both natural and constructed) and geographically referenced layers on Earth. PSMA Australia Limited is one source of geospatial imagery for the ABS.

See Geospatial, PSMA Australia Limited.

Incorporated Australia

Incorporated Australia is that part of Geographic Australia over which incorporated local government bodies have responsibility. The areas over which the local government bodies have jurisdiction are known as Local Government Areas (LGAs).

See Local Government Area (LGA), Unincorporated Australia, Geographic Australia.

Indigenous Area (IARE)

An Indigenous Area (IARE) is a medium sized geographical unit designed to facilitate the release of detailed statistics relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. IAREs provide a balance between spatial resolution and increased granularity of attribute data. They are created by aggregating one or more Indigenous Locations (ILOCs). For the 2011 Census, 429 IAREs are defined to cover the whole of Geographic Australia.

Indigenous Locations (ILOCs) are aggregates of one or more Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1s). ILOCs generally represent small Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities with a minimum population of 90 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 'usual residents'. An ILOC is an area designed to allow the release of Census statistics relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with a high level of spatial accuracy whilst maintaining the confidentiality of individuals. For the 2011 Census, 1116 ILOCs have been defined to cover the whole of Geographic Australia.

ILOCs aggregate to Indigenous Areas (IAREs), and cover the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps.

Indigenous Regions (IREGs) are large geographical units loosely based on the former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission boundaries. They are created by aggregating one or more Indigenous Areas (IAREs). The greater population of IREGs enables greater cross classification of variables when compared with IAREs and Indigenous Locations (ILOCs). For the 2011 Census 57 IREGs are defined to cover the whole of Geographic Australia. IREGs do not cross state or territory borders.

The Indigenous Structure of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) provides a geographical standard for the publication of statistics about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia. It has been designed for the purpose of disseminating Census data by spatial areas relevant to the distribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The boundaries produced for the Indigenous Structure are constructed from Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s).

The Indigenous Structure comprises 3 levels of geographic units in a single hierarchy:

Inner Regional Australia is a category within the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Remoteness Structure. Inner Regional Australia is defined as 'Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s) with an average ARIA+ index value greater than 0.2 and less than or equal to 2.4'. Inner Regional Australia includes towns such as Hobart, Launceston, Mackay and Tamworth.

KML, or 'Keyhole Markup Language', is an XML grammar and file format for modelling and storing geographic features such as points, lines, images, polygons, and models for display in Google Earth, Google Maps and other applications. KMLs can be used to share places and information with other users of these applications. KMLs provide a bird's eye view of locations; place marks may include a custom name and the latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates of the location. Examples of KML files can be found on the KML Gallery and Google Earth Community website that describe interesting features and places.

KMZ files are zipped KML files, which make them easier to distribute and share with multiple users.

KMZ files may also include limited 3D model data that can be placed on the map at a specific location to provide an idea of what the building will look like in that area.

In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the Earth's surface. Latitude is an angle which ranges from 0° at the Equator to 90° (North or South) at the poles.

Linge refers to the methodology/criteria used for delimiting Urban Centres and Localities (UCLs) for each Census from 1966 to 2006. It is based on that developed by Dr G.J.R Linge from the Australian National University. For 2011 onwards, the Linge criteria have been replaced by criteria developed by ABS utilising characteristics of individual Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s).

Local Government Areas (LGAs) are a Non-ABS Structure of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). Non-ABS Structures are hierarchies of regions that are not defined or maintained by the ABS. LGAs are defined by the Departments of Local Government, or their equivalent in each state or territory, excepting the Australian Capital Territory. The ABS approximates the officially defined boundaries with aggregations of Mesh Blocks.

LGAs cover incorporated areas of Australia. Incorporated areas are legally designated parts of state or territory over which incorporated local governing bodies have responsibility. The major areas of Australia not administered by incorporated bodies are the northern parts of South Australia and all of the Australian Capital Territory and the Other Territories. These regions are identified as ‘Unincorporated’ in the ABS LGA structure.

The number of LGAs and their boundaries can change over time. Their creation and delimitation is the responsibility of the respective state or territory governments, and are governed by the provisions of state or territory local government and other relevant Acts.

In all states and the Northern Territory each incorporated area has an official status. In the 2011 ASGS edition, the various LGA status types in use are:

New South Wales: City (C) and Area (A)

Victoria: City (C), Rural City (RC), Borough (B) and Shire (S)

Queensland: City (C), Shire (S), Town (T) and Regional Council (R)

South Australia: City (C), Rural City (RC), Municipality/Municipal Council (M), District Councils (DC), Regional Council (RegC), Town (T) and Aboriginal Council (AC)

Locality is a term used by different people to mean different things and assumptions should not be made about what the term means in any given usage. An increasingly important official use of the term is for the areas defined by each state and territory Geographical Naming authority as suburbs or localities.

The ABS definition of locality relates to the Urban Centre and Locality (UCL) Structure where a Locality is generally defined as a population centre of between 200 and 999 'usual residents', however, a Locality may contain a population exceeding 1,000 persons if it does not meet the criteria for an Urban Centre.

Location is a general term to describe a place on or near the surface of the Earth. Location data is information that has any location component and is often used when referring to geospatial information.

See Geospatial.

Longitude

In geography, longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees. Points with the same longitude lie in lines running from the North Pole to the South Pole.

See Address Coding/Address Geocoding, Coordinates, Geocode, Latitude.

Lord Howe Island

Lord Howe Island is an island approximately 600 kilometres to the east of the Australian mainland and is considered to be part of New South Wales. It is included in the Mid-North Coast Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4) of New South Wales. In context of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), Lord Howe Island was part of the Mid-North Coast Statistical Division (SD) of NSW.

Macquarie Island is an extremely isolated sub-Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean. Macquarie Island is excluded from the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) although it is legally part of Tasmania.

See Geographic Australia.

Main Structure

The Main Structure is the most widely used of the ABS statistical geography structures. The Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) had a Main Structure and, the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) contains a Main Structure comprising Mesh Blocks, Statistical Areas 1-4 (SA1-4s), and states and territories.

Major Cities of Australia (not to be confused with Major Urban) is a category within the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Remoteness Structure. Major Cities of Australia is defined as 'Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s) with an average ARIA index value of 0 to 0.2'. The 'Major Cities of Australia' class includes most capital cities, as well as major urban areas such as Newcastle, Geelong and the Gold Coast.

The Major Statistical Region (MSR) was an Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) defined area within the Statistical Region Structure. The 2011 ASGC edition was the final edition. The MSR had large populations suitable for the presentation of both Population Census and Labour Force statistics within the frameworks for standard statistical outputs from these collections. MSRs were aggregates of Statistical Regions (SRs) and the largest region of the Statistical Region Structure. MSRs covered, in aggregate, the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps.

Major Urban is a category within the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Section of State (SOS) Structure. Major Urban represents a combination of all Urban Centres with a population of 100,000 persons or more.

See also Section of State (SOS) Structure, Section of State Range (SOSR), Urban, Urban Centre and Locality (UCL) Structure.

MapInfo Interchange Format (.mid .mif)

MapInfo Interchange Format (.mid .mif) is a file type for digital boundary files that can be imported directly into MapInfo Professional and other common Geographic Information Systems (GIS) or desktop mapping packages. The .mid .mif files are text format and can be edited and manipulated for import to less common GIS and CAD systems.

MapInfo Professional is Geographic Information System (GIS) software used within the ABS. ESRI ArcMap is also used within the ABS. MapInfo Professional utilises MapInfo Interchange Format (.mid .mif) files.

The Mesh Block is the smallest unit within the new Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). Their boundaries are contiguous and cover the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. There are approximately 347,600 Mesh Blocks.

Due to their size, Mesh Blocks can be aggregated to accurately represent many different geographical regions, including administrative, management and political boundaries. By coding statistics to Mesh Blocks, it will be possible to produce summary statistics for a whole range of geographical regions not currently represented in statistical geography.

Metadata is the information that defines and describes data. As information has become increasingly digital, metadata are used to describe digital data using metadata standards specific to a particular discipline. In terms of statistical geography, metadata is supplied with each ABS release of digital boundaries describing all aspects of the contents of data files such as data currency, data quality, file type and file nomenclature. Metadata for digital boundaries is compiled as explanatory notes.

See Digital Boundaries.

Metropolitan

The ABS does not define 'Metropolitan' areas.

'Metropolitan' can be used to mean Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSAs) that are part of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Main Structure. GCCSAs are geographical areas that are designed to represent the socio-economic definition of each of the eight state and territory capital cities. They provide a stable comparative definition for these cities which are used for the output of a range of social and economic survey data.

In the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), the Capital City Statistical Divisions (Capital City SDs) had sometimes been used to indicate 'Metropolitan' areas.

Migratory is used to code people who are in transit on long distance trains, buses, aircraft and long haul road transport vehicles on Census night.

Offshore is used to code people on oil rigs, drilling platforms etc. It is also used for expeditioners in the Australian Antarctic Territory.

Shipping is used to code people who are on board vessels in Australian waters, in or between Australian ports on Census night.

See Special Purpose ASGS Codes.

Migratory Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1)

Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s) have a Migratory category.

Migratory SA1s are used to code people who are in transit on long distance trains, buses, aircraft and long haul road transport vehicles on Census night. There is one Migratory SA1 for each state and territory.

See Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1), Migratory - Offshore - Shipping.

Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP)

The size and shape of a region impacts upon the picture the resulting data portrays. This can have a direct impact on the results of any subsequent analysis. This issue relates to the modifiable areal unit problem.

An academic journal article authored by Professor Stan Openshaw titled "The Modifiable Areal Unit Problem" (published by Geo Books) provides more information on this topic. The article is available for download from the Quantitative Methods Research Group (QMRG) - Royal Geographical Society website and is listed 38 under the 'CATMOG' tab: http://qmrg.org.uk/

The National Address Management Framework (NAMF) is a nationally consistent, standards based approach to address management. It includes guidelines from which organisations can implement NAMF-compliant data management systems. The ABS address coding process conforms to the NAMF.

The last National Localities Index (NLI) was released in 2007. The NLI is no longer produced. In its place the ABS provides selected 'Locality indexes' and selected 'Population weighted Locality correspondence' files.

For a full list of coding indexes and population weighted correspondences available, please view the 'Correspondences' chapter of the ABS Statistical Geography website: http://www.abs.gov.au/geography

See Coding Indexes, Population Weighted Correspondences.

National Statistical Service (NSS)

The National Statistical Service is the community of government agencies, led by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as Australia's national statistical organisation, building a rich statistical picture for a better informed Australia. It aims to develop and improve a statistical system that ensures providers and users of statistics have the confidence to trust the statistics produced within it.

Natural Resource Management Regions (NRMRs) are part of the Non-ABS Structures.

Natural Resource Management Regions (NRMRs) are an ABS approximation of Natural Resource Management (NRM) regions. The NRMR boundaries are approximated using Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s) and are only updated in Census years.

NRM regions are managed by the Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. They are administrative regions primarily used to report on the Australian Government's ‘Caring for our Country’ investments, but are also used for environmental and agricultural reporting. They are based on catchments or bioregions.

The federal government, in association with state and territory governments, has identified 56 NRM regions covering all of Australia. They are used to administer and report on aspects of environmental policy including sustainable farming and biodiversity. NRM regions change occasionally when states and territories revise their boundaries.

Non-ABS Structures are approximated by and built directly from Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) regions. The Non-ABS Structures comprise eight hierarchies of regions which are not defined or maintained by the ABS, but for which the ABS is committed to providing a range of statistics. They generally represent administrative regions and are approximated by Mesh Blocks, Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1s) or Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2s).

Norfolk Island is situated approximately 1,500 kilometres east of the Australian mainland outside the scope of Geographic Australia and, is therefore not included in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS).

Prior to the 1996 Census, no external territories were included in Geographic Australia, although, Census data were collected for Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Following amendments to the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 - 1973 effective from July 1992, the two external territories of Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands became part of Geographic Australia. The other Australian external territories (Norfolk Island, and minor islands such as Heard Island and McDonald Island), remain outside the scope of the Census of Population and Housing.

Since the 1996 Census, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and the Jervis Bay Territory (previously linked to the Australian Capital Territory for statistical purposes) comprise a pseudo 'ninth State/Territory' of Australia. As part of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS), they are included in state code '9' and name 'Other Territories' with each of the three areas having a unique Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) code.

Prior to the 1986 Census, separate Censuses of the islands were conducted by the Department of Home Affairs, or its equivalent.

For the 1986 and 1991 Censuses, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island were included as part of the Australian Census, but their data were excluded from statistical counts for Australia. Norfolk Island and other minor external Territories were out of scope for the Census of Population and Housing.

See Geographic Australia.

Other Urban

Other Urban is a category of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Section of State (SOS) Structure. Other Urban represents a combination of all Urban Centres with a population between 1,000 and 99,999 persons.

See Section of State (SOS) Structure, Section of State Range (SOSR), Urban Centre and Locality (UCL) Structure, Urban.

Outer Regional Australia

Outer Regional Australia is a category in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Remoteness Structure. Outer Regional Australia is defined as 'Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s) with an average ARIA+ index value greater than 2.4 and less than or equal to 5.92'. Outer Regional Australia includes towns and cities such as Darwin, Whyalla, Cairns and Gunnedah.

Place of Work (POWP) data provide information on where a person goes to work. The address of the person's workplace in the week prior to Census Night is coded to a Destination Zone using an index provided by the State Transport Authorities.

Destination Zones do not concord with Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s) but they do aggregate to Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2s), and it is at the SA2 level that Place of Work data can be used in conjunction with other aggregated Census data.

Journey to work data are used by transport authorities, associated bodies, organisations and other interested people to plan public transport systems, and for the development and release of residential and commercial land.

See Destination Zones (DZNs).

Population Weighted Correspondences

The ABS provides ‘Population Weighted Correspondences’ that can be used to link data collected on some non-ABS boundaries to standard ABS geographic areas - for example, Australia Post Postcode to Statistical Areas Level 4 (SA4s) and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSAs) within the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) or to Statistical Divisions (SDs) within the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC). This enables data to be directly compared with a range of other ABS data that is released on both the ASGS and the ASGC.

For a full list of population weighted correspondences available please view the ‘Correspondences’ chapter of the ABS Statistical Geography website: http://www.abs.gov.au/geography

Privacy is an individual's right to have their personal information managed so that it is kept confidential except where informed consent has been given to release the information, or a legal authority exists, in accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act 1988.

More information is available from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) website: http://www.oaic.gov.au/

Projection

A projection is a mathematically-transformed representation of a 3-Dimensional surface (like the Earth) onto a flat 2-Dimensional map. Projection metadata is provided in the explanatory notes of ABS publications with digital boundaries data files.

See Digital Boundaries, Metadata.

PSMA Australia Limited

PSMA Australia Limited is an unlisted public company that has evolved to facilitate access to seamless national geospatial datasets derived from government data sources. The vast majority of digital geospatial data and basemap used by the ABS is supplied by PSMA Australia Limited. ABS has a contract with PSMA Australia Limited for the supply, maintenance and regular updating of this data.

The change in geographical classification from the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) to the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS), has resulted in an increase in demand for correspondences to convert past data to the new ASGS. As a result the ABS conducted an investigation to determine how accurately correspondences converted data. This found that while some correspondences converted data well, there were many cases where the converted data did not reflect the actual characteristics of some geographical regions. Based on these findings a quality indicator was developed to inform data users of where the converted data values are likely to be accurate, and where caution will be needed to be used when assessing the results. For each region that has been corresponded to, a quantitative assessment results in a score that is translated into a textual description of 'Good', 'Acceptable' or 'Poor'.

Refers to a geographic area or boundary of any type: for example Suburb, Local Government Area, Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1s) to Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4), Remoteness Areas. A region may include all or part of an urbanised area, including capital cities.

Regional Council (RegC)/(R)

Regional Council (RegC) is a type of Local Government Area (LGA) in South Australia. Regional Council (R) is a type of LGA in Queensland.

See Local Government Area (LGA).

Remote Australia

Remote Australia is a category in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Remoteness Structure. Remote Australia is defined as 'Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s) with an average ARIA+ index value greater than 5.92 and less than or equal to 10.53'. Examples of Remote Australia include Alice Springs, Mount Isa and Esperance.

The Remoteness Areas (RAs) divide Australia into broad geographic regions that share common characteristics of remoteness for statistical purposes. The Remoteness Structure divides each state and territory into several regions on the basis of their relative access to services. Individual states and territories may not contain areas of every class: for example the Northern Territory does not contain a Major City or an Inner Regional classification.

The classes of RA in the Remoteness Structure are:

Major Cities of Australia

Inner Regional Australia

Outer Regional Australia

Remote Australia

Very Remote Australia

Migratory - Offshore - Shipping

No usual address.

RAs are based on the Accessibility and Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA) produced by the Australian Population and Migration Research Centre at the University of Adelaide.

The Remoteness Structure is part of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) ABS Structures and provides a geographical standard for the publication of statistics by relative remoteness. It divides each state and territory into several regions on the basis of their relative access to services.

The Remoteness Structure has only one level above the Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1) of the ASGS Main Structure. The Remoteness Structure is categorised into Remoteness Areas (RAs). RAs aggregate to states and territories (S/Ts) and cover the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps.

From the Mesh Block level, the complete list of spatial units in this structure are:

See Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA), Remoteness Area (RA).

Rural

The ABS defines 'Rural' in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Section of State (SOS) Structure as areas which are not part of any 'Urban' area. The Bounded Locality and Rural Balance categories of SOS thus make up 'Rural' Australia.

Rural Balance is a category of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Section of State (SOS) Structure. This category provides for those areas not included in the other four categories of the SOS Structure: for example Major Urban, Other Urban, Bounded Locality and Migratory.

See Section of State (SOS) Structure, Section of State Range (SOSR), Urban Centre and Locality (UCL) Structure, Rural.

Rural City (RC)

Rural City is a type of Local Government Area (LGA) in Victoria and South Australia.

See Local Government Area (LGA).

Rural Remote and Metropolitan Areas (RRMA) Classification

This classification was defined for the then (Commonwealth) Departments of Primary Industry and Energy and Human Services and Health in 1994 based on 1991 Census population data. Although the ABS contributed to the development of the classification and the underlying index of remoteness, RRMA was not an ABS classification. The classification has not been revised since 1994 and, as such, may not be representative of the relative remoteness of areas twenty later.

The classes defined in RRMA were Metropolitan Areas (Capital City and Other Metropolitan Centres), Non-metropolitan Zones (Rural Zone and Remote Zone). The Rural and Remote Zones were further subdivided into Large Rural Centre, Small Rural Centres, Other Rural Area and Remote Centre and Other Remote Area. These categories were defined on the population size of the largest Urban Centre within the Statistical Local Area (SLA) based on 1991 Census population data. The population of these Urban Centres have changed considerably since 1991 making the classification, in the absence of a complete revision, less relevant as time passes.

The Section of State (SOS) is an ABS Structure created using population counts to define Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1) as urban or rural and to provide, in aggregate, statistics for urban concentrations and for bounded localities and rural balance areas.

The SOS structure is intended primarily for the dissemination of statistics from the Census of Population and Housing. SOS aggregates the Urban Centres and Localities (UCLs) on the basis of population ranges: for example all UCLs in a state or territory within a particular population range are combined into a single SOS.

There are four SOS categories:

Major Urban - representing a combination of all Urban Centres with a population of 100,000 persons or more.

Other Urban - representing a combination of all Urban Centres with a population between 1,000 and 99,999 persons.

Bounded Locality - representing a combination of all Bounded Localities.

Section of State Range (SOSR) disaggregates the Section of State (SOS) on the basis of population ranges: for example all Urban Centres and Localities (UCLs) in a state or territory within a particular population range are combined into a single SOSR. SOSR regions are consequently not contiguous.

For Urban Centres the population ranges are:

1,000,000 or more

250,000 to 999,999

100,000 to 249,999

50,000 to 99,999

20,000 to 49,999

10,000 to 19,999

5,000 to 9,999

1,000 to 4,999

For Localities the population ranges are:

500 or more

200 to 499

There is no population limit applied to the 'Remainder of State/Territory', which are included in a SOSR of 'Remainder of the State/Territory' for each state and territory.

States and territories do not necessarily have all SOSR codes represented.

Shipping is used to code people who are on board vessels in Australian waters, in or between Australian ports on Census night. This includes commercial cargo vessels, passenger liners, ocean going passenger/car ferries, and dredges. Foreign crews on ships are excluded from Census enumeration.

See Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1), Migratory - Offshore - Shipping.

Shire (S)

Shire (S) is a type of Local Government Area (LGA) in Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and Northern Territory.

Significant Urban Areas (SUA) represent aggregations of whole Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) boundaries and are used to define and contain major urban and near-urban concentrations of over 10,000 people. They include the urban population, any immediately associated populations, and may also incorporate one or more closely associated Urban Centres and Localities and the areas between. They are designed to incorporate any likely growth over the next 20 years.

Significant Urban Areas do not cover the whole of Australia, and may cross state or territory boundaries.

A spatial unit is an artificial demarcation with digital boundaries of an area that can be mapped. Spatial units can aggregate to cover large areas: for example Mesh Blocks' spatial units aggregate to cover all of Australia. The ABS codes spatial data to spatial units to safeguard confidentiality.

See Digital Boundaries, Geospatial, Confidentiality.

Special Purpose ASGS Codes

Special purpose codes are used where there is insufficient information to code to a physical geographic area: for example responses with no fixed address or instances of incomplete location information. They have been created for each hierarchical level within the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Main Structure. These codes are not spatial. They do not have a region associated with them in the various ASGS digital boundary sets. The ASGS contains two special purpose codes 'Migratory - Offshore - Shipping' and 'No usual address'.

In the Main Structure, special purpose codes relate to states and territories, SA4s, SA3s, SA2s and SA1s. They are also included in other ASGS areas such as Greater Capital City Statistical Area (GCCSA) and in Non-ABS structures.

See Migratory - Offshore - Shipping, No usual address.

State and Territory (S/T)

The state and territory (S/T) is the largest spatial unit in both the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) and the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC).

There are six states and five territories: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory, Jervis Bay Territory and the external Territories of Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

Jervis Bay Territory, and the Territories of Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands are grouped as one spatial unit at the State/Territory level in the category of 'Other Territories'.

States and territories consist of one or more Statistical Areas Level 4 (SA4s) in the ASGS or one or more Statistical Divisions (SDs) in the ASGC. In aggregate, they cover Australia without gaps or overlaps.

A State Electoral Division (SED) is an area legally prescribed for the purpose of returning one or more members to the state or territory lower houses of parliament. SEDs are part of the Non-ABS Structures. SEDs are approximated by aggregating the data for Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s) that best fit the area.

See Non-ABS Structures.

State Suburb (SSC)

State Suburbs (SSCs) are an ABS approximation of officially gazetted suburbs and localities. SSCs are approximated using one or more Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s) from the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). SA1s are the smallest geographic areas on which most 2011 Census data are released. SSCs are created to enable the release of ABS data on areas that, as closely as possible, approximate gazetted suburbs and localities.

The Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1) is the second smallest geographic area defined in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS), the smallest being the Mesh Block (MB). The SA1 has been designed for use in the Census of Population and Housing as the smallest unit for the processing and the release of Census data. SA1s also serve as the basic building block in the ASGS and are used for the aggregation of statistics to larger geographic areas that are part of the Non-ABS Structures.

SA1s are not named. They are identified either by an 11-digit fully hierarchical code, or by a truncated 7-digit unique code comprising the state or territory (S/T), Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) and SA1 identifiers.

SA1s are designed to remain relatively constant over several Censuses. Future change will largely be dealt with by splitting existing SA1s. For the 2011 Census, there are approximately 55,000 SA1s throughout Australia (this includes the Other Territories of Christmas and Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Jervis Bay). SA1s cover the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps.

Special SA1s:

Zero population SA1s are created in areas that are expected to have little or no permanently residing populations. Data from these areas may be reassigned to a populated alternate SA1.

Shipping SA1s contain people who are enumerated aboard ships in Australian waters. This includes commercial cargo vessels, passenger liners, ocean going passenger/car ferries, and dredges. People enumerated on board commercial vessels between Australian ports are also attributed to Shipping SA1s. Foreign crews on ships are excluded from Census enumeration.

Offshore SA1s contain people who are enumerated on off-shore oil rigs, drilling platforms and the like. There is one Offshore SA1 for each state and territory. Census data from respondents who completed their Census forms in the Australian Antarctic Territory are coded to an Offshore SA1 in Tasmania.

Migratory SA1s contain people who are enumerated on an overnight journey by train or bus. There is one Migratory SA1 for each state and the Northern Territory.

The Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) is an area defined in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS), and consists of one or more whole Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s). Wherever possible, SA2s are based on officially gazetted State suburbs and localities. In urban areas SA2s largely conform to whole suburbs and combinations of whole suburbs, while in rural areas they define functional zones of social and economic links. Geography is also taken into account in SA2 design.

SA2s cover, in aggregate, the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps.

Statistical Areas Level 3 (SA3s) are built from aggregations of whole Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) boundaries to represent regions of between approximately 30,000 people and 130,000 people to cover the whole of Australia. These boundaries reflect a combination of widely recognised informal regions as well as existing administrative regions such as State Government Regions in rural areas and Local Government Areas (LGAs) in urban areas. SA3 boundaries fit within whole Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4) boundaries.

Statistical Areas Level 4 (SA4s) are designed to reflect one or more whole labour markets for the release of Labour Force Survey data. SA4s are required to have large populations of over 100,000 people in order to enable accurate labour force survey data to be generated on each SA4. For this reason, in rural areas SA4s generally represent aggregations of multiple small labour markets with socioeconomic connections or similar industry characteristics. Large regional city labour markets (150,000 people) are generally defined by a single SA4. Within major metropolitan labour markets SA4s represent sub-labour markets.

SA4s are aggregations of whole Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3) boundaries and fit whole within state and territory boundaries.

A Statistical District (S Dist) was an Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) defined area which bounded a large predominantly urban area outside the Capital City Statistical Divisions (SDs). An S Dist consisted of one or more urban centres in close proximity to each other, with a total population of 25,000 persons or more. The boundaries of S Dists were defined to contain the anticipated urban spread of the area for a period of at least twenty years.

S Dists consisted of one or more Statistical Subdivisions (SSDs) and may have crossed Local Government Area (LGA) boundaries. S Dists could straddle Statistical Division (SD) and state or territory boundaries. The Gold Coast-Tweed S Dist encompassed an urban area which lay partly in Queensland and partly in New South Wales. The Albury-Wodonga S Dist straddled the New South Wales/Victorian border. The Canberra-Queanbeyan S Dist was partly in the Australian Capital Territory and partly in New South Wales.

A Statistical Division (SD) was an Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) defined area which represented a large, general purpose, regional type geographic area. SDs represented relatively homogeneous regions characterised by identifiable social and economic links between the inhabitants and between the economic units within the region, under the unifying influence of one or more major towns or cities. They consisted of one or more Statistical Subdivisions (SSDs) and covered, in aggregate, the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. They did not cross State or Territory boundaries and were the largest statistical building blocks of states and territories.

In New South Wales, proclaimed New South Wales Government Regions coincided with SDs except for North Coast, which consisted of the SDs of Richmond-Tweed and Mid-North Coast.

In the remaining states and territories, SDs were designed in line with the ASGC general purpose regional spatial unit definition.

A statistical geography provides the extra dimension of location to statistics. A statistical geography effectively divides the area of interest, on which the statistics are collected, into spatial categories, called statistical areas, that allow the user to see not just how the data varies but also where it varies. An effective statistical geography is one which supports many uses and enables comparisons over time.

The Statistical Local Area (SLA) was an Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) defined area. 2011 was the final ASGC edition.

SLAs were made available in 2011 to provide a bridging unit between the ASGC and the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). As of 1 July 2011, the ASGS has replaced the ASGC as the standard geographical framework for ABS data. The ASGC formally ceased to be an ABS standard from the 1 July 2012, but it will not be replaced entirely by the ASGS until 2014 in all ABS collections.

The Statistical Region (SR) was an Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) defined area within the Statistical Region Structure. The SR had sufficient population to be suitable for the presentation of both Population Census and Labour Force statistics within the frameworks for standard statistical outputs from these collections. SRs covered, in aggregate, the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps.

Statistical Region Sectors (SRSs) were subdivisions of Statistical Regions (SRs) and were a part of the Statistical Region Structure. They consisted of one or more adjoining Statistical Local Areas (SLAs).

The Statistical Region Structure was part of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) and was used for the production of standard statistical outputs from Population Censuses and Labour Force Surveys. Labour Force Surveys use dissemination regions for the publication of labour force data.

The Statistical Spatial Framework (SSF) provides a consistent mechanism for spatially enabling socio-economic data so that it can be more effectively integrated with other statistical and spatial data. Widespread application of the SSF will improve the accessibility and usability of spatially-enabled socio-economic data, significantly increasing the value of this data for policy making, analysis and planning, service delivery, business operation and development, and community engagement. The SSF is a National Statistical Service (NSS) initiative led by the ABS, which is also being examined by the United Nations for possible adoption globally.

The Statistical Subdivision (SSD) was an Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) defined area which represented an intermediate level, general purpose, regional type geographic unit. SSDs consisted of one or more Statistical Local Areas (SLAs) and covered, in aggregate, the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps.

See State and Territory (S/T), Geographic Australia, Other Territories.

Tourism Regions

The ABS and other organisations publish tourism data by Tourism Regions (TR). TRs are not defined by the ABS and are therefore identified as a non-ABS (administrative) region in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). 2011 was the first time that TRs have been fully integrated into official ABS statistical geography as part of the Non-ABS Structures.

The TRs are updated annually. They each consist of a group of Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2s). In the past they consisted of a group of Statistical Local Areas (SLAs).

TRs consist of aggregates of whole SA2s and cover the whole of Geographic Australia. There are several TRs within each state and territory except for the ACT which only has the TR of Canberra. The TRs do not include the Other Territories (OT) or the Migratory - Offshore - Shipping SA2s. The SA2s for the 'Great Barrier Reef Islands' are not true SA2s. These SA2s are listed against the TR of '3R160, Great Barrier Reef'.

Unincorporated Australia are those areas which are not under the responsibility of an incorporated local government. The major areas of Australia not covered by incorporated bodies are the northern parts of South Australia, the far west of New South Wales, large areas of the Northern Territory and all of the Australian Capital Territory and Other Territories.

See Incorporated Australia, Local Government Area (LGA).

Unit Record/Micro data

Unit record data represents observations for an individual or organisation. Unit record data may contain individual responses to questions on a survey questionnaire or administrative forms.

Urban

The ABS defines 'Urban' in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Section of State (SOS) Structure as areas which are not part of any 'Rural' area. The 'Major Urban' and 'Other Urban' categories of SOS are considered to make up 'Urban' Australia.

See Major Urban, Other Urban, Section of State (SOS) Structure, Rural.

Urban Centre

Urban Centres are geographical units that are designed for the release of data from the Census of Population and Housing, and are derived from analysis of the data within Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s) from the 2011 Census. Population centres with a 'core urban population' of 1,000 persons or more are considered to be Urban Centres.

Urban Centres are part of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Urban Centre and Locality (UCL) Structure.

The Urban Centre and Locality (UCL) Structure is part of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) ABS Structures.

An 'Urban Centre' is generally defined as a population centre with a 'core urban population' of 1,000 or more people. A 'Locality' is generally defined as a population centre of between 200 and 999 people. People living in Urban Centres are classified as urban for statistical purposes while those in 'Localities' are classified as rural, that is, non-urban.

Each Urban Centre and Locality (UCL) is bounded (that is, a boundary for it is clearly defined) and comprised of one or more whole Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s). UCLs are defined for each Census and are current for the date of the Census. The criteria for bounding 2011 UCLs are based on criteria developed by the ABS utilising characteristics of individual SA1s.

Very Remote Australia is a category in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Remoteness Structure. Very Remote is defined as 'Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s) with an average ARIA+ index value greater than 10.53'. Very Remote Australia represents much of central and western Australia and includes towns such as Tennant Creek, Longreach and Coober Pedy.

A Zero SA1 is a Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1) which is deliberately designed to contain zero population. Zero SA1s are a valuable mechanism for separating populated areas from unpopulated areas rather than spreading the population count for small clusters of population over very large unpopulated areas. A very small number of people who do happen to be present in a Zero SA1 on Census night may be coded to a predetermined adjacent SA1.

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